Magnificent Solid Silver Gilded Ciborium. France, XIX Century.

Magnificent French Solid Silver Ciborium. Made in France in the XIX century. Extraordinary religious piece of beautiful workmanship with a sinuous engraved floral decoration. It has a simple circular base, which undoubtedly highlights a beautiful decoration based on intertwined leaves in relief joined by small pine cones. The foot presents simple knots without decoration that denote a great elegance to the piece. The base of the cup is decorated with half circles in which are developed beautiful bouquets of three flowers each, which are repeated over the entire surface of the lid. The top of the piece is in the form of a Celtic cross, decorated on three of its arms with pine cones, presenting an image that is clearly linked to religious symbolism. The piece appears contrasted in all its parts. It presents the contrasts of solid sterling silver with the French stamp (Minerva) and the contrasts of goldsmith. Solid pieces like this one are made by casting and are of a higher quality, as this is an expensive method of manufacture. The origin of religious silver dates back to the years when, thanks to Constantine the Great, Christianity became the official state religion. From that moment on, this type of objects would become one of the main incomes of silver craftsmen. This type of religious pieces, like the rest of the decorative arts, go according to the style of the moment. The Celtic Cross is a type of cross used by the Celtic peoples after their conversion to Christianity. It is a symbol that combines the Christian cross with a ring around the intersection that can be seen very clearly in this example. The history of the Celtic cross dates back to more than 2,000 years before Christ and its origins are very different depending on who tells the story. With the arrival of Christianity, the first Celtic Catholics mixed the pagan symbolism with the Catholic cross being still in our days a unifying emblem, symbol of the Christian faith in Europe. In this example, the cross also appears together with the image of the pine cone, symbol of immortality, life and fertility. It is the symbol of the fecundity of nature and appears decorating the top of the Tree of Life and the church is identified with it, identifying the seeds with the welcome it gives to a great number of people. Precious piece full of symbolism and history, that will fill with magnificence the room in which it is placed. Measures: 28 x 13 cm. Weight: 510 gr.